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What's this deal with Neuralink, Musk and Monkeys? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Unfortunately I have been living under a rock recently.

Can someone please ELI5 it for me ?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Wikipedia is also great for catching up on things one is behind on.

For example the section under heading “Animals testing and deaths” in the Neuralink article reads:

Neuralink tests their devices by surgically implanting them in the brains of live monkeys, pigs and other animals.[43] Neuralink's methods have been criticized by groups such as PETA.[44] From 2017 to 2020, Neuralink's experiments on monkeys were conducted in partnership with UC Davis. At the end of their partnership, UC Davis transferred seven monkeys to Neuralink. In 2022, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) alleged that Neuralink and UC Davis had mistreated several monkeys, subjecting them to psychological distress, extreme suffering, and chronic infections due to surgeries.[45] Experiments conducted by Neuralink and UC Davis have involved at least 23 monkeys, and the PCRM believes that 15 of those monkeys died or were euthanized as a result of the experiments. Furthermore, the PCRM alleged that UC Davis withheld photographic and video evidence of the mistreatment.[46]

In February 2022, Neuralink said that macaque monkeys died and were euthanized after experimentation, denying that any animal abuse had occurred.[47][48] Musk previously stated that Neuralink implants might be introduced by injecting them through the jugular vein, and not by opening the cranium (which Neuralink currently requires).[49] In December 2022, it was reported that Neuralink was under federal investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding animal welfare violations. Additionally, a report by Reuters cited claims from several Neuralink employees that testing was being rushed due to Musk's demands for fast results, which was leading to needless suffering and deaths among the animals.[50][51] A September 2023 expose by Wired provided additional details on the primate deaths based on public records and confidential interviews with a former Neuralink employee and a current researcher at the California National Primate Research Center.[52][53]